Kirill Tereshin became internet famous after injecting his biceps with three litres of petroleum jelly (also known as Vaseline) with the intent of giving himself a swole look without having to lift a single weight. The effects of Tereshin’s home surgery lead to extreme swelling of his arms, earning him the nicknames ‘Bazooka Arms’, ‘Popeye’ and ‘Russian Hulk’.
Tereshin crossed over from meme to MMA fighter in 2019. That year he lost to Russian slapping champion Vasiliy ‘The Dumpling’ Kamotskiy and blogger/actor Oleg Mongol.
Tereshin, a former soldier with the Russian army, is now trying to trim down his famously swollen arms. He’s already had some small procedures, but now he is awaiting a major surgery that will hopefully turn his arms back to how they used to be.
He told East2West News the reason why he needs to get his arms back under control.
“I’m only 24, and my immune system is so far coping with this inflammation, but I really do not know what will happen next,” said Tereshin (ht Fox Sports Australia).
“That is why I started the surgeries to get rid of this nightmare. I bulked up my arms when I was 20 due to my own stupidity. I did not think about the consequences.”
Doctors have told Tereshin that he could die if drastic steps weren’t taken to remove dead tissue and the now solidified slabs of petroleum jelly that are wedged inside his arms.
“The hardest surgery will be on my biceps … the nerve responsible for the arms’ sensitivity is inside,” Tereshin said.
“God forbid something happens to this nerve and I cannot move my arm. I really worry about this, I am very afraid … I should have thought about this earlier, I know. I blame myself, I know I’m guilty.”
Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, which has resulted in almost 90,000 deaths in Russia, Tereshin’s surgery to fully remove the petroleum jelly has been postponed. He hopes the surgery can take place later this year.
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